Warner Leads Cardinals Over Rams: Week 11 Report Card

It's a good sign, I suppose, when this “Tale of Two Teams” Cardinals bunch manages to end up on the winning side when all is said and done. A win is a win is a win, and all that.

But what happened today, in what Darnell Dockett calls "The LOU," gave a clear illustration to those few who still don’t think "Hall of Fame" when they think of the Cards' starting quarterback are frankly off their collective rockers.

Of course, there are all the "reasons" why backup QB Matt Leinart wasn’t able to do what his mentor does. His timing was off because he doesn’t practice with the first stringers and hasn't played regularly.

The Cardinals are an elite team.

That’s right, you heard me. The Arizona Cardinals are an elite football team. One that doesn’t get many public props or the proper respect of its own fans, let alone fans of the opposition. But an elite team, nonetheless.

When Kurt Warner is in the game.

So, to clarify, Kurt Warner was his razor-sharp self and guided the Cardinals offense to three first-half touchdowns.

Warner was hit late in the second quarter on a completion to WR Larry Fitzgerald, smacking his noggin on the same St. Louis turf where he became a folk hero. After removing himself from the game, his backup, Matt Leinart, finished.

Cardinals Passing Offense: A-

Kurt Warner was spectacular. He is a constant. His players feel like they can depend on him because, well, they can. There’s a level of trust between Warner and his teammates that it can’t be just his quick release, calm demeanor, or pinpoint accuracy that separates him from the rest.

Or can it?

Warner completed 15-of-19 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns in building the Cardinals a comfy lead after an early disaster that, in the past, may have killed this team.

On the Cards' first possession, Warner and company picked up a quick first down, but on the third play from scrimmage, RB Beanie Wells coughed up the ball, and the turnover gave the Rams fantastic field position at the 25-yard line. They kicked a FG and took a 3-0 lead.

But Warner never flinched. A sack ended the next drive at midfield, but, on the ensuing possession, he calmly drove down the field and (following a huge Tim Hightower run) hit WR Anquan Boldin (8 rec., 103 yds, 1 TD) for a momentum-shifting 5-yard TD, and a lead they’d never relinquish.

After a quick three-and-out, he again drove them down, this time hitting Larry Fitzgerald (8 rec., 87 yds, 1 TD) in the end zone for 11 yards and a 14-3 lead.

On the next possession, he completely deflated the Rams' faithful (and possibly a few players) by casually driving his team for yet another seemingly "easy" touchdown. But it was a costly drive.

On the third play, he hit Fitz on the aforementioned 11-yard pass and was face-planted into the St. Louis turf. He completed the drive but pulled himself after the lead became 21-3.

Enter Matt Leinart.

Now, being spotted an 18-point lead with just over a half to go is a nice way to enter a game. Leinart’s first drive of the second half wasn’t bad, taking the team from their own 15 to the St. Louis 33, but it stalled there.

From that point on, he wasn’t able to move the ball and never got the team in position to score. He DID manage to save his own bacon with a sweet 20-yard pass to WR Early Doucet on 3rd-and-4 deep in Cardinals' territory in the team's final drive to milk the clock down to just over a minute, clinging to what became just an eight-point lead.

He didn't turn the ball over, but a fumble following a completion by TE Anthony Becht ended a drive. But his inability to move the chains and score some points, with the running game working well, drops Warner's A+ afternoon to an A- for the passing game.

Cardinals Rushing Offense: A-

That’s right, for the third straight week, the Cardinals put together an actual NFL "elite team"-caliber running game. Starter Tim Hightower put together his first 100-yard game since the last year's Big Red visit to "The Lou."

Hightower ripped off a career-long 50-yarder that set up the Cards' first touchdown. He again had several runs at or over 10 yards, accumulating 110 yards on only 14 carries (7.4 YPC ave).

Beanie Wells, aside from that early fumble, again put together a nice game and showed why Cardinals fans have a lot to look forward to as the season wears along. He had 74 yards on 14 carries (5.3 ave) and a TD as the team topped their season-high rushing total (182 yards against Chicago) with 183 yards.

Averaging 6.1 yards per carry and rolling up over 180 yards would be good for an A or A+ in general. The offensive line opened some huge holes, and the RBs found them. But Beanie's first quarter fumble drops this to an A-. The Cards have been very lucky so far in getting away with their fumble-itis.

Cardinals Passing Defense: A-

The passing D was stout all day, with both CBs Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Brian McFadden both playing often on an island as the safeties (especially Adrian Wilson) played near the line much of the game to help stop Rams RB Steven Jackson.

McFadden, who leads the team in this category, broke up several passes before tweaking his knee and sitting out the second half. DRC played tight defense and stayed within the system.

The longest reception was for 29 yards, and no Rams receiver collected more than five passes for more than 65 yards and zero TDs on the day.

Wilson also picked off the 21st pass of his illustrious career late in the first half, and Darnell Dockett notched a huge sack late in the game with St. Louis down by eight and threatening.

Cardinals Rushing Defense: B+

When you go up against Rams RB Steven Jackson, your main job is to keep him contained. Sure, he’ll pick up some yards, but don’t allow him to be the guy who beats you.

The stud back for St. Louis’ otherwise inept offense just set an NFL record by rushing for over 1,000 yards in five straight seasons today. He also gained over 100 yards for the first time against the Cardinals' defense in nine previous tries.

Jackson’s 116 yards on 24 carries are decent numbers, but when you figure in the 48-yard run he had late in the third quarter, his numbers aren’t anything to write home about. His 4.6 yards per carry average drops to under three (2.9 YPC) if you just count his other 23 runs.

Overall: A-

OK, so it wasn’t pretty in the second half. But you have to hand it to these guys on both sides of the ball. They were 6-11 (54 percent) on third down conversions, and allowed the Rams to manage just 4-of-16 (25 percent) on third down.

They kept their head on the road even after that early fumble. They played a team that was the proverbial "trap" in the Rams, in St Louis, that was "hot" coming in.

They took care of business. And in doing so, put together five straight road wins for the first time since their mid-70s heydays in "The LOU.”

Next week's game is in Tennessee against the vastly improved Titans.

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